The insanity of this Seahawks season continues, what with that crazy last-minute comeback to beat New England last week. The Seattle team that would lay down against top competition IN the past couple years (2010 Wild Card notwithstanding) now boasts wins over Dallas, Green Bay and New England–all at home, mind you. The flipside is that their only road win thus far has come against the lowly Carolina Panthers, while they’re also 0-2 against the NFC West. That makes tonight’s matchup against the Niners in San Francisco a reel big fish for the Hawks. A win today could see them with sole possession of first place almost halfway through the season, and with Arizona fading (back-to-back losses against St. Louis and Buffalo), the division could very well come down to the head-to-head record between these two teams. Of course, we’re only in Week Seven…
Last week, while the Hawks pulled off a big comeback victory over the perennial Super Bowl contenders, the Niners found themselves in tough against the defending champs. After kicking an early field goal, the San Fran offense stalled, going scoreless for three-and-a-half quarters, while their usually-stout defense gave up 26 points. Of course, the offense gave the Giants pretty good field position by tossing three picks, which probably didn’t help. Still, the Niners team that went 13-3 last year didn’t get embarrassed like that on their home turf, so perhaps that leaves the door open for Seattle this year.
Of course, the Hawks do it all with defense, giving up the second-fewest points and rushing yards in the league. The tall, rangy Seahawks secondary has also led the way in racking up five picks, while the D-Line has posted a whopping 17 sacks on the season. That certainly doesn’t bode well for Alex Smith and his sprained middle finger, he who’s been sacked 16 times and picked off on four occasions thus far, while posting a paltry 214.5 passing yards per game. For what it’s worth, his Seattle counterpart, Russell Wilson has thrown six picks and 185 yards a game, but he’s coming off a performance (293 yards, three TDs) that was every bit as good as Smith’s last outing was bad. It might be worth noting, however, that all six of Wilson’s INTs were thrown on the road. This will definitely be the rookie’s toughest test away from home, no doot aboot it!
In any case, this is likely going to be a knock-em-down, drag-em-out type effort between two tough Ds and elite RBs Marshawn Lynch (549 yards, two TDs) and Frank Gore (470 yards, four scores). As per custom, I’ve benched both Gore and TE Vernon Davis, who I’m in the process of trading, on my fantasy team this week. I’ve also partaken this evening in another one of my Seahawks winning rituals: the halibut burrito!
I know it may sound strange, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t look–and taste–delicious! I usually go for one of these after every Seahawks win, but because the game doesn’t start till 8:30 tonight, I had to grab one before kickoff. I’m hoping it’ll bring the team luck; hey, it sure seemed to work on Monday Night Football against the Packers! Seahawks 14, Niners 12. 
